Phineas and Ferb: Bound
by xXNightWing360Xx
Summary: Almost two years have passed since Phineas and Ferb traveled to the 2nd dimension with Perry/Agent P, and with spring break upon them, they are determined to make this the best two week vacation ever. Their first project is simple: address Perry's recurring nightmares so he can finally get some sleep. But the nightmares are not just figments and memories... They are a warning.
1. Prologue: Dreams of the Past

_**A/N: **Yes, this has its own place on deviantart. But I have an account and I'm using it. Besides, this site's submitting layout is just... easier, ya know?_

_I've seen the new submittion layout on dA and... I'm heavily considering just transferring the story to FF exclusively. But, that wouldn't be fair, so instead, I'm gonna post it on both sites. Call it a back-up in case something happens to the dA version AND the copy I got in my folders._

_Now, I AM editting the chapters as I go because I got a few complaints/suggestions on dA and I want it to look pretty for FF as I re-edit for dA. However; in regards to the prologue... I didn't change much. Anything anyone suggested couldn't be changed or the whole mood and the whole point behind the following scene would be gone. It'd render the whole thing pointless._

* * *

_**LOCATION: Enemy HeadQuarters  
DATE: December 15th, 2007  
TIME: 11:46 PM  
WEATHER: Lightning Storm**_

_"Agent P! Cover Agent E and head into the Surveillance Room! We need to know where they're going to be."_

_"Grrrrt..."_

_"Don't argue with me, rookie! And don't go running off to try and play hero. Just follow Agent E and cover her. Remember your place, soldier."_

_Agent P remembered that moment well; sighing in frustration and faintly saluting his officer, Monogram, before shutting off his wrist communicator, readying his weapon in his hand, and following the adult bird of prey through the hallways._

_He was only a rookie back then; a teenaged agent. Probably not suited for the job, when he sat back and thought about it now, but then again, he'd been an agent since he was infantile; a teenager being allowed on this mission wasn't entirely out of the question back then..._  
_Of course, looking back on it, this mission was probably far too important for them to let a teenage agent put them at risk, but, really, he was only there to add numbers anyway, not because he was any good._  
_But back then, he looked forward to a big, important mission like this one. THIS was what he'd envisioned when he first became an agent; going on big missions and saving the world._

_Of course, when Perry looked back, he shouldn't have been as zealous on a mission that important, and he shouldn't have rolled his eyes and disregarded half of what his superior ordered as "stupid and unfair". For back then, he thought to know more than his superiors. He was a teenager. Teenagers do that; even platypus teenagers._

_He followed Agent E down the metal hallway, her talons clicking and echoing off the metal walls as they snuck to an opened door. The human sized opening look like it was an automatic door, but it did not take their presence to open it; it was already open. Agent E held up a wing, telling Agent P to stay there and cover her as she poked her beak inside to survey the area and make sure it was safe. Agent P waited impatiently for her to signal the "all clear", and once she did, he quickly circled around her to bolt inside the Surveillance Room. The room was small, and only had several consoles lining the walls, with screens everywhere showing each area of the building Agent P, Agent E, and several other agents were positioned it._

_Agents P and E both knew what to do from there. Their eyes scanned the countless screens as they approached the consoles. They were looking for a few people in particular, and they knew that the people they were hunting knew what they were planning. Agent P knew, even back then, the people he and the more experienced agents were hunting were cunning and dangerous, and that one wrong move one would have one to all of them dead in seconds. They had already lost Agents G and C in the infiltration. They couldn't afford anymore casualties._

_His brown eyes finally spotted something; movement in what was labeled as the "Reactor Room", and it didn't look like it was leaving. He gathered Agent E's attention, who quickly saw what Agent P was referring to. They knew where to go. Agent E led Agent P out._

_Agent E led Agent P down the hallway for what felt like an hour, but they both knew it was only a few minutes. Agent E was constantly warning the rookie agent to be careful, and the platypus agent constantly rolled his eyes and half assured her he would be careful. He thought he knew what he was doing._

_Eventually, they came to a room labeled, "Reactor Room". This was it. Agent E and Agent P each stationed themselves at either side of the door while Agent E contacted the other agents to move to their postion. Agent P was getting antsy already. Their targets were right in that room. All they had to do was corner them and arrest them, but Agent E constantly assured him they needed to wait for back-up._

_Agent P wasn't going to wait. His fist flicked up to hit the combination pad, and the door instantly opened. The overzealous teenaged, rookie platypus he was, he barged right in, knowing full well Agent E would follow him and back him up. He knew the importance of this mission, and that was why he wasn't intending on waiting and giving these maniacs a chance to slip away when they were so close._

_Agent E did indeed follow him in, calling after him to stop and wait for back-up. She had a good opening; the room was huge. They were walking on iron catwalks that looked over several vats of different chemicals, tubes of different radiations, and several pods containing they-didn't-know-what. The villains they were tracking could have been anywhere in this huge place._

_Agent P felt a wing grab his arm; Agent E was still telling him to fall back and wait for back-up, but Agent P wasn't going to have any of it. He shook, instisting his view was the right one, as any teenager would have done. They could have taken the villains easily._

_Agent E had insisted the flunkies were one thing, but the head villain, the one behind everything, their main target, was far too cunning to blindly rush at. The villain could get into your mind and make you betray your fellow agents. It had even happened to her once, and several other agents...or so she said. But Agent P thought himself superior to humans back then; no human could really brainwash an animal. Surely, Agent E was just exaggerating._

_He shook away and went on, Agent E forcing herself to follow behind and make sure he didn't kill himself._

_It didn't take them long to find their target a few corners away, overlooking the radiation. Their target did not react violently though. Instead, they invited the two agents to join them, and overlook the chemicles. Agent P wasn't going to have any of it, but Agent E insisted with this villain, it wasn't going to be a very physical confrontation; more of a mental one. She flew up and did join the villain to look over the chemicles, and Agent P reluctantly did the same, coming to the opposite side of the villain._

_So, this was her plan? Surround the villain and take them?_

_No, not really. Agent E and the villain actually had a mostly casual conversation, at least as casual a human mastermind and an agent eagle could have a conversation. It was mostly about the radiation, and the villain's plans._

_Agent P got more antsy the further this continued, and he had right, for several other agents soon joined them, aiming their weapons at the villain, who simply held their hands above their head in mock surrender. But Agent P knew that wasn't going to be it._

_He was right, as he felt himself be grabbed by the villain, their hand tight around his throat, almost crushing it, as the villain jumped onto the railing, threatening to jump with the platypus rookie still in their hand. Of course, Agent P was the rookie. It was kind of in the contract of a rookie to get captured at least once._

_But Agent P, dizzy as he was from lack of oxygen as the other agents around him paused due to simple morality, wasn't going to have any of it. He refused to be used to have his fellow agents surrender._

_As this prooved to be a very stupid idea, it only became worse and worse. Soon, he and his fellow agents were surrounded by the four main lackies they had tried avoiding the whole mission. Agent P quickly realized Agent E was right; this entire plan of his was stupid, and he had just endangered everyone and everything. He'd known how important this was, and he'd botched it all up._

_He was quickly tossed back onto the metal catwalk, allowing him oxygen as the villain sat on the railing and ordered their capture, not their execution._

_Agent P recalled the rest of the scene as a blur. A fight broke out now that he was free, and Agent E ordered he stay put and stay out of the way. Agent P couldn't blame her; she was rightfully mad at him then, and as the horrible brooding feeling took its toll, Agent P just did as told, grabbed his weapon and made his way off of the iron catwalk, staying out of the way as the older, more experienced agents fought._

_He was soon met with a new, but familiar, face standing over him on the rail. He knew it who it was. He turned and backed away, but he had nowhere to go; the exit was blocked. Why was this villain focusing on him; the rookie, the screw up?_

_The villain did not want a confrontation. They simply wanted to talk._

_They pointed out Agent P's faults, repeatedly, but also pointed out Agent P's raw skill. They pointed out that the Agency was constantly dragging him down, that they were afraid of his raw skill when honed, and wanted to keep him tied down. After his recent failure, the Agency wasn't going to be very happy with him anyway. He wouldn't be missed if he left and decided to join a group more "rewarding"._

_Agent P wasn't going to have any of it. He knew he was a screw up. That was why he needed the training. He knew what this monster was trying to do; he'd been warned about it. He knew this villain was trying to get into his head and mess with it. He knew it was trying to cause another betrayal, but it wasn't going to happen with THIS agent...no matter how right Agent P thought they were at the time. He took an oath, and even if the agency pissed him off sometimes, he was going to keep his word._

_He remembered aiming his weapon at the villain, forcing them to back away from him, though he never intended for it to get to the point where the maniac climbed onto the railing and..._

* * *

**LOCATION: Flynn-Fletcher HouseHold  
DATE: February 28th, 2012  
TIME: 2:46 AM  
WEATHER: Clear**

The platypus sat up in a swift bolt of movement. His eyes widened in a sudden shock, his heart jumping into his throat as he stood up on all fours in a panic. His pulse raced, his vision blurred as his teal fur fluffed in anxiety. He did his best to assess what just happened.

A small internal sigh ran through him. Instead of being met with the agency infirmary, he was met with the shared bedroom of his preteen owners. He glanced about a bit to check everything was in order, and another sigh went through him. His green haired owner was still asleep on the bed across from him, and his redheaded owner was still resting on the raft boat that Perry sat on.

Perry sighed and circled his spot a bit, settling down again. It was just a dream; he was back in reality now.  
But...That mission...Had it been five years already?

He hadn't thought about that mission for a good three years, and he had thought it was going to stay that way for the rest of his lifetime. What could have brought that horrid memory up again?

He blamed it on nerves or anxiety. With his boys getting more clever and more unlucky, they were constantly getting closer and closer to finding out the truth about him...again.  
Yeah, that had to be it; nerves and anxiety. It couldn't have been something foreboding.

He settled down at Phineas' feet, his eyes glancing up to Ferb one last time before they closed to blackness. He hoped with all his heart that his dream of a memory wasn't a warning of things to come. He prayed the dream held no meaning outside of an anxiety enduced memory.

For the sake of his boys...his family...

* * *

**_A/N:_**_ Now, see, if that had been uber detailed, would that at all have had the same mood or atmosphere? No, it wouldn't. At least... I don't think it would have._

_...I'm not changing it. *stubborn arm cross* _


	2. Chapter 1: Spring Vacation

**_A/N: _**_And so the adventure... doesn't so much begin, as much as has some kind of starting point._

_Quick note: Yes, Ferb has dialog outside of one or two one-liners. I'm not editting it out. =w=_

* * *

_**LOCATION: Flynn-Fletcher Household  
DATE: Monday; March 5th, 2012  
TIME: 7:30 AM  
WEATHER: Sunny, Mildly Chilly**_

Winter was just barely making way for Spring when our tale began. The snow was just beginning to melt, the temperature was ever slowly rising, and all the small animals outside had just begun waking up from their long hibernation. Instead of just an alarm clock on this new day of Spring, two certain step brothers, who lay resting in a large house in Danville, Virginia, awoke to the sounds of an alarm clock and the chirping of the birds that had flown back after their Winter's migration.

11 year old Phineas Flynn stretched his entire body out in his raft bed before sitting up, his muscles soon relaxing before bright but tired cobalt eyes glanced to the digital clock next to him. As usual, it read "7:30 AM", and his tired orbs instantly lit up when his brain woke up a little bit more and realized what today was; the first day of spring break. That meant he and Ferb had two whole weeks away from school, and thus they only had that amount of time to start on the projects and invention ideas the two brothers had formulated over the recent school year.

He quickly jumped from his bed and raced over to the mattress of his 12 year old step brother, Ferb Fletcher, who was still turned over with his back facing Phineas, his head stuffed between two separate pillows. As much as the Brit liked getting up to avoid wasting any time, there were some mornings where he just wanted to sleep in a few extra minutes; half an hour at most. Of course, Phineas wasn't going to have any of that. The redheaded boy thrust his hands against the blanket covering Ferb's back and nudged him suddenly, startling Ferb into flinching and sitting up rapidly. The pillow over his head fell onto the blanket covering him as he rose from his failed attempts to recharge a bit further.

"Ferb! It's Monday!" Phineas cried out as he shook his brother and disrupted Ferb's attempts at sleep.

A small groan left the twelve year old as he stretched his muscles a bit. There was really no getting back to sleep at this point, and he looked up to his younger brother with tired, dark blue, and almost annoyed eyes.

"...I am well aware what day it is today, brother...Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm..." Ferb grunted a bit, running a slow, tired hand through his messy, vibrant green hair.

Phineas quickly climbed up onto the purple sheeted bed, crossing his legs as he chuckled softly.

"Ferb, did you stay up late reading again?" He laughed.

Ferb rolled his tired eyes, but did not verbally reply. His eye roll was enough of an answer for Phineas, and while the two usually had full length conversations when they were by themselves, such as when they woke up or went to bed or were otherwise alone, Ferb was still a tad quieter in the morning, especially when he hadn't gotten a full night's sleep. It had become an infrequent habit of Ferb to accidentally stay up past his usual, self-set bed time reading an interesting book, and that often led to a tired Ferb in the morning. He wasn't grouchy and grumpy...but he was certainly tired.

After a moment, Ferb only yawned in a partial response, and Phineas laughed playfully once more as he soon remembered they were both still in their pajamas and needed to get dressed.

"Yeah, you did it again." He giggled.

Ferb's shoulders slumped a bit as he watched Phineas head over to the dresser to collect their spring clothing. Phineas soon gathered two pairs of pants from Ferb's drawer, but as he was collecting Ferb's shirt, he heard Ferb fall back onto his pillow with a frump. Phineas giggled as he turned to find Ferb stuffing his face back into his pillow and attempting to pull the blanket back over his head. It was rare that Ferb get up and then try to go back to sleep, even when he was running on less energy than he was used to, but this was spring break. He now had the free will to sleep in if he wanted to, and right now, he really wanted to. However, he soon felt Phineas throw his clothes at him, he soon realized going back to sleep wasn't an option.

"C'mon, get up, Ferb! It's spring break! We only have two weeks to-" Phineas started as he closed Ferb's drawer and opened his own.

"-seize the day and get to work on our projects...I'm aware..." Ferb muttered into the pillow, having heard this speech more times and at the start of more spring breaks than he could remember.

Phineas laughed as he pulled his pajama shirt off and traded it for the sweater he wore during the chilly spring. As the redhead slipped his pants off, Ferb finally sat up, stretching and yawning softly before climbing out of his bed and pulling off the yellow pajama top he wore. He was honestly still surprised these pajamas fit; he'd worn them since he was 10, and two years later, he had not outgrown them. Odd.

The both of them soon traded their pajamas for their spring outfits. Of course, they both planned to switch back to their signature look once spring made way for summer and the temperature rose, but Ferb had a feeling the signature look was dying and that they were slowly gaining new signature looks.

Right as the two boys finished getting dressed, they both wore blue jeans, as they always did during the spring; Phineas' were bright blue and Ferb's were dark blue. Phineas wore his orange, white striped sweater with baggy sleeves, and Ferb wore his dark purple turtleneck sweater. Phineas and Ferb sat down on the ends of their beds to put on their socks and shoes. Phineas' sitting shook the bed, startling the sleeping platypus at the end of the raft bed. Perry the Platypus jumped a bit after being shaken from his sleep, but looked up a bit to his owner with slight relief when he realized it was just Phineas. A small smile formed on his bill before he returned to his mindless, stoic state as Phineas glanced to him, slipping his socks on.

"Morning, Perry!" He greeted his pet platypus cheerfully as he bent over to pick up his left shoe to start putting his shoes on.

Perry just chattered rather mindlessly, and Phineas and Ferb both translated it as a 'good morning'. Ferb smiled as he slipped his own shoes onto his sock covered feet. Phineas often liked to pretend he could understand what Perry was saying when he chattered, after the animal-translator they created one summer didn't translate the speech of the one creature they built it for. Ferb, and even Perry, found the act adorable, even if Perry did sometimes find it a bit irritating when Phineas got incredibly serious about it, which the young pre-teen did often. Phineas had even gotten into heated arguments with other kids over what the platypus was saying, and Perry sometimes wanted to stand up and tell all the pre-teens around him to shut up.

But, of course, the platypus was stuck enduring everything around him, including Phineas picking him up and hugging him tightly after tying his shoes.

"How'd you sleep, Perry?" Phineas asked as though Perry would honestly answer him.

Once again, Perry just churtled mindlessly in response. Although, part of him wanted to release a small yawn. Admittedly, he was a little tired, though he wouldn't dare show it in fear of arousing suspicion in his owners. In the case of Phineas and Ferb, gaining their attention with something out of the norm would mean near impossible escape from his youngest owner. Of course, Perry's latest adventure had him out all night, and he really just wanted to get back to sleep. For now, though, he just let Phineas squeeze him and pretend Perry had said, "Fairly well." Phineas soon released the platypus and stood, going to his desk and grabbing his sketchpad while Ferb gathered both of the boys' cell phones from off of Phineas' nightstand. He stuffed his own cell phone into his pocket before Phineas snatched his out of Ferb's hand and stuffed it into his pocket.

"C'mon, Ferb! We gotta get an early start if we're going to-" Phineas started as he raced for the door and opened it, but was once again cut off.

"-get as many of our projects done as soon as possible. Phineas, I have heard this speech every spring break since we were both 8 years old..." Ferb chuckled a bit as he followed his brother into the hallway.

Phineas laughed a bit as Perry tiredly jumped off of the raft bed and followed his boys into the hallway.

"Am I really that predictable?" Phineas asked sheepishly, running his hand through his hair, which had grown quite a bit since the previous summer vacation.

Ferb just laughed and nodded. He and Perry both followed the eager preteen down the stairs and into the dining room that also doubled as the Flynn-Fletcher kitchen. There, they instantly met their parents as Perry wandered over to his already filled up food and water bowls, swaying slightly due to his lack of sleep until he finally plopped down and started wolfing down his food. Lawrence was already at the dining room table eating his premade breakfasts while Linda was still at the stove finishing on cooking her own breakfast, and the morning meals for her children. When the boys entered, Linda and Lawrence instantly looked over to Phineas and Ferb with smiles.

"Morning, boys!" Lawrence greeted them as he flipped through his morning newspaper.

"Morning, Dad!" Phineas instantly greeted as he and Ferb sat down in their chairs next to each other.

While Phineas greeted his parents verbally, Ferb just waved and smiled slightly in greeting. Linda quickly came over the moment her boys sat down and placed their plates of bacon, eggs and requested left-over mashed potatoes in front of them before kissing them both on the cheek in greetings. Phineas laughed happily once he was reminded of his mother's presence.

"Hey, Mom." He welcomed with a high tone as he and Ferb picked up their silverware.

"Morning, boys. You boys sleep over?" Linda asked with a smile as she headed back to the kitchen to grab her breakfast and her daughter's breakfast.

Phineas chuckled a bit and stabbed his eggs while Ferb seemed to glance down to the floor sheepishly.

"I did, but Ferb stayed up reading again. When did you go to bed, Ferb?" He asked in a playful tone.

Ferb glanced about to the ceiling, retracing his memory as he cut a piece of the bacon off of the strip and stuffed it into his mouth. When _did_ he go to sleep...? Upon remembering, he looked back to Phineas, an embarrassed color splashing onto his cheeks as he muttered "10:30" through his meat. Phineas instantly laughed once he swallowed his eggs.

"10:30? Well, I guess it's a step up from '5:45 in the morning'. At least you're improving, Ferb!" He laughed quite playfully as he stabbed another egg.

Ferb shot a slightly annoyed glance at him, but he didn't bother reminding them of the exact details as he shoved another piece of bacon in his mouth. The period of time that Phineas was referring to had only happened once, and it was on a Friday-to-Saturday. It wasn't like he had school or anything too important to do on that Saturday; it was just a normal Saturday, and Ferb was heavily indulged in "The Hunger Games", and yet Phineas still would not let him live it down. It was a January afternoon Phineas would never let Ferb forget. These kinds of remarks Phineas shot at him were one of the few things about Phineas that annoyed him, however playful they were. The moment Ferb was about to forget an embarrassing moment, the moment he thought an issue was finally dead and buried, Phineas always somehow dug it back up, revived it, taught it how to gamble and drove it to Vegas. Ferb never spoke of it, though, for he knew that Phineas was always playing.

This left the rest of the family with just a small awkward silence as Linda sat down after placing Candace's food at her place. She giggled a bit at Phineas' little joke.

"Oh, Phineas, stop that...That was 2 months ago." She laughed as she took a bite of her own eggs.

Phineas just laughed and nodded, agreeing to bury the issue for now. He soon looked up from his breakfast to look over to his parents again after swallowing another bite of bacon.

"Say, um, where's Candace?" He asked, soon looking up to where he knew Candace's room was.

"She's still asleep. She was out late with Jeremy last night..." Linda reminded him, smiling and shaking her head a bit at the memory of Jeremy bringing Candace home at 10:30 last night, and Candace staying up until midnight talking with Stacy about her evening.

Phineas laughed and opened his mouth to make another joke to Ferb, but Ferb only snatched Phineas' fork from his hand, stabbed the remaining piece of bacon, and shoved it into his mouth to interrupt him before he could say anything.

"Don't even think about it." He warned playfully before standing up to put his plate in the sink.

Phineas quickly removed the fork from his mouth and swallowed, watching Ferb with slight amazement in his eyes as Ferb placed his plate and silverware in the kitchen sink.

"Wow. You eat fast, man."

Ferb nodded as he came back over to sit back down next to him, shrugging somewhat nonchalantly.

"I was hungry." He defended quickly and simply.

Phineas just grinned a bit as he continued eating, glancing over to Perry. The platypus was slowly eating his food after he had wolfed down a good portion of it. He seemed rather sluggish as he swapped between his water and his food, and as Phineas watched Perry actually slump into his water by accident, he sat up.

"Perry looks tired." He pointed out.

The gaze of the other three patrons quickly went over to their semi-aquatic pet and they all soon noticed the platypus was indeed acting a bit sluggish. Phineas' head tilted as he watched Perry eat slowly, and Ferb glanced over to Phineas to ask for an explanation. Phineas glanced up to Ferb upon sensing his gaze and shrugged.

"He hasn't been acting that tired lately...Although, I have noticed that sometimes, he wakes up very suddenly at night. He's been doing _that _for a while..." He mused quietly before glancing back to the platypus.

By now, Perry was done with his meal; yawning and stretching a bit, he curled up by his food bowl and rested to take a light power nap. Phineas' head tilted in confusion, his expression wincing in similiar wondering.

"...You think Perry's been having some nightmares?" He asked.

Lawrence shrugged a bit, folding up his newspaper and putting it down on the table.

"If you say he's been waking up at night so suddenly, that's a possibility." He confirmed.

As Phineas took the last bite of his breakfast, he slipped off of the chair and quickly went over to kneel down next to Perry, running his fingers through the platypus' teal fur. Perry did not react much outside of a tired but pleased churtle and as Phineas continued petting him, an idea started to formulate in his mind.

"...If only we knew what Perry was dreaming about that had him up every night. Maybe we could help him not be so scared at night, or help the nightmares go away..." He quietly mused more to himself than Ferb, who also came over to kneel down next to Perry and pet him.

After another moment of thought, an idea suddenly formed into a full plan. Phineas' face lit up like it always did whenever he had one of his brilliant breakthroughs, and he quickly stood, raising up an arm in dramatic declaration.

"That's it! I know what we're gonna do today, Ferb!" He cried, not noticing that Perry instantly awoke from his power nap.

Upon hearing Phineas' usual catchphrase, Perry's eyes instantly opened in a slight fear. Panicking just a little bit, he casually stretched a bit and quickly bolted for the doggy door leading out the back door. Even if he didn't have to go in to work until later, he decided now was a good time to wander off again. That didn't stop Phineas from picking up his sketchbook from off of the table and bolting for the door, completely forgetting about his plate.

"C'mon, Ferb! We gotta start ordering the parts!" He called to Ferb as he bolted.

"Phineas, your plate!" Linda called after him, watching him leave with a small laugh and a smile.

Ferb raised a hand, signaling that he would get it as he grabbed the plate, dashed to the kitchen to put it in the sink, and quickly bolted off after his brother. Both parents watched their boys race out the door and heard them race for the front door.

"Boys, be careful! The roads might still be a little bit slippery!" Linda warned as she heard Phineas open the front door.

"We will! We're just getting our friends! We'll be back in the backyard in a few minutes!" Phineas called back before pulling Ferb out the front door and into the big, open world.

Linda giggled softly, her husband smiling with her as they both turned back to their food and waited for Candace to come downstairs.

"Those boys...Always on the move, aren't they?" Linda laughed softly.

Lawrence nodded after swallowing a bite of his food.

"Of course. They've always got such big plans." He reminded her proudly.

Linda nodded in agreement and they both sat silently, eating their breakfast. Though they didn't worry much for their boys, as they city was fairly safe and they both knew the 'going out by themselves' guidelines, they couldn't help but allow Phineas constant energy to concern them. There wasn't much they could do to stop it, of course, so they both just enjoyed the ride.

Once outside in the chilly but slowly warming neighborhood, Phineas looked both ways and made sure the snow plow wasn't coming on its usual rounds. After making sure the road was clear, Phineas started carefully across the road as Ferb, stuffing his hands into his pockets to warm them, followed carefully.

"And what exactly _is_ today's plan, brother?" He asked curiously.

Phineas turned to grin at him as they neared their best friend's house.

"A Dream Machine, of course!"

* * *

**_A/N: _**_...Huh. I actually don't have many comments for afternotes. ._._

_This is awkward. Well, anyway, I got another chapter to edit and revise coming your way, so let me know what ya thought of this one! (It wasn't intended to be lacking in detail this time, so please, let me know if I need to fix anything. Thank you. =3)_


	3. Chapter 2: The Plot Missed Its Bus

**_A/N:_**_ Last chapter I got on hand bringing it over from dA. *sigh* I do hate exposition chapters. They slow me down so damn much... continuing the plot, I can do; getting the plot going, on the other hand..._

_Oi. Ok, the exposition chapters are gonna suck just a little bit, I won't deny it. But, please, just bear with me until we get to the cool junk, ok? It'll get a lot better when stuff finally starts happening, I promise. - Until then... just... bear with me, alright?_

* * *

_**TIME: 7:50 AM**_

Phineas quickly jumped up onto the snow covered sidewalk once he and his brother crossed the street, not letting the snow and ice underneath slow him down as he bounded for the front stoop of their best gal-pal. Ferb slowly followed the energetic preteen up to the stoop, and stepped onto it right as Phineas knocked on the door. Both of the boys patiently waited for someone to come to the door and answer, and before either of them had to wait for too long, the door opened wide to show that it was Vivian Garcia-Shapiro who answered the door. Her eyes grew big as a friendly smile rushed up onto her face.

"Oh, Phineas! And Ferb! Good morning!" Their Hispanic neighbor greeted warmly in a high tone upon seeing them.

"Good morning, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro. Can Isabella come out today?" Phineas greeted, and then asked, folding his arms and sketchbook behind his back casually.

"Of course! We were just finishing breakfast. She'll be out in just a second." Vivian replied with a smile before turning back around and walking back inside.

Phineas and Ferb heard Vivian calling for her daughter inside, and both waited patiently by the door while they listened to the rapid clanks of their neighbor, in the kitchen, putting her dishes in the sink. After another moment, they watched 11 year old Isabella Garcia-Shapiro rush past her mom and throw on her bright pink jacket as she ran over to the still open door to greet the boys.

"Hey, guys! What'cha doin'?" She quickly asked upon rushing out and shutting the door, leaning against it to play with her hair in an attempt to look a bit cute for both boys, though mostly for the redheaded one standing on her stood.

"Morning, Isabella! You wanna help me and Ferb make a Dream Machine as our first Spring Break Invention?" Phineas quickly and abruptly asked the moment he got the chance, a huge, energetic grin on his face at the prospect.

Isabella straightened her posture, though tried to keep herself in a cute position by folding her arms behind her and grasping onto her own hands. Her big, dark blue eyes brightened with a growing curiosity as she nodded.

"Sure! What's it do?" She asked in a high interest.

Phineas shoved the sketchbook under his arm and held it there as he instantly started thinking up the plans for the machine while he spoke.

"It's going to be a machine that can project your dreams onto a screen like a movie! We're gonna use it to be able to see the nightmares Perry's been having so we can help him to not keep waking up in the middle of the night. He's always really tired in the morning." He politely and excitedly explained.

"Poor Perry...I wonder what has him so spooked. He doesn't really have anything to be afraid of, does he?" Isabella asked curiously.

Phineas shook his head, his bright smile lowering into a confused frown.

"Not really. He's not even afraid of the vet's office. He just really, really, really, really, really, REALLY dislikes it." He chuckled slightly, his frown becoming a wry smile.

Ferb looked down to the snow covered ground; he remembered what happened the last time they took Perry to the vet, and Isabella, also aware of the last visit to the vet, giggled slightly.

"Oh, yeah. Your parents had to go to court last November 'cause the vet sued 'em." She giggled.

"You'd be surprised how vicious a platypus can be when it feels threatened." Phineas laughed despite not being entirely fond of that memory.

Ferb soon nudged his brother gently with his elbow, reminding him that they were quickly getting off topic. Phineas quickly remembered what they were talking about before and cleared his throat.

"Ahem...So, anyway, we're going to try to see if this Dream Machine will help. Do you think you can get Baljeet and Buford to come over while Ferb and I start drawing up the plans and ordering the parts?" Phineas politely asked.

"Sure!" Isabella agreed, nodding with a small smile.

Phineas smiled as he pulled the sketchpad out from under his arm to carry it in his hands again.

"Great. So, we'll meet you guys back at the house?"

"Sure-Oh, wait!" Isabella quickly yelped upon remembering something, "I just remembered; wait right there!" She quickly, but politely, ordered before heading back into her house, leaving the door open behind her.

The boys waited at her stoop for about two minutes before their friend returned with a small, orange lizard in her hands; a chameleon, to be precise. Ferb's eyes instantly lit up as he held his hands out for the reptile to climb into his hands. Once the creature noticed Ferb with his ever-twitching eyes, he seemed to grow excited and jumped into Ferb's hands and up his arm to sit on his shoulder.

"He snuck into my house again." Isabella reported as the little creature, Steve, nuzzled Ferb's cheek with his head.

Phineas laughed slightly as Ferb brought a hand up to pet his pet chameleon. It was true, for the past week, the lizard had been sneaking away from the house and off to Isabella's house, and for the life of them, no one could figure out why. They had asked several specialists, but none of them had a clue; Steve wouldn't go to anyone's room, so it wasn't like he had a particular attachment for anyone in the Garcia-Shapiro family. Isabella would just always find him in the morning chewing on a plant or pestering Pinky by his food and water bowls. Pinky and Steve didn't seem to like each other, and that was usually where Isabella found the two; fighting over the food.

"Sorry about that, Isabella. Steve usually always sticks by Ferb whenever he's not off frolicking in the great wilderness of our backyard." Phineas laughed in apology.

"Oh, that's ok. I just wish he wouldn't torment Pinky so much. They always fight over the food, and Steve doesn't even eat it if he wins." Isabella mused slightly, her brow lowering a bit.

Everyone's eyes went to Steve, who just sat on Ferb's shoulder rubbing him affectionately. They wondered what went on in that little reptile's head sometimes.

"...Oh, well! Maybe we can figure out what's going on in his head with the Dream Machine. Maybe he sleepwalks. Or if push comes to shove, we can already just bring out the Animal Translator to ask him point blank." Phineas mused.

"Yeah, where DID you put that thing?" Isabella curiously asked.

"Where we put everything else." Was Phineas' only response.

"...and that is?"

"Magicians never reveal their secrets, Isabella." Ferb quietly confessed, silently indicating they weren't going to reveal where they stashed everything they didn't mysterious vanish or get destroyed.

Isabella just giggled slightly and shrugged, somehow satisfied with that answer.

"Works for me. I'll just call Buford and Baljeet, then."

"Thanks, Isabella! We'll meet you guys over at our house!"

"Ok!"

As the boys and the girl turned and went their separate ways - the boys heading back across the street and Isabella heading back inside the house - Phineas pulled the sketchpad out from under his arm, flipped to the first clean page he could find, was handed a pen by Ferb - as Ferb kept spare pens in his pocket - and instantly began drawing up the basic schematics for their latest invention.

"Ok, we'll need to create a screen, a helmet, and a projector to make it all work. We can make a chair to attach the helmet to the projector, or we could make it all wireless. It might squeeze our budget a bit, but it's better than having Buford or Baljeet tripping over wires, I guess. We'll need some kind of metal that's form fitting, or have a "one-size fits all" kind of deal. That's gonna be a little tough...of course, we could have expansion and contraction options; we'll just need a lot more materials."

As Phineas rambled on about the invention he planned to assist in the creation of, both preteens came to the other side of the street. As they walked up the slippery pathway, Ferb glanced up and noticed another car in the driveway. His brow furrowed when he didn't recognize whose car it was. It was clearly a Ford Sedan, but he didn't know anyone with that brand of car. He soon tapped Phineas' shoulder, and when Phineas stopped his only little ramble, he looked up from his writen musings and found the car Ferb was pointing towards. They stopped and stared at it, Phineas' head cocking slightly.

"...Oh. Wonder why we didn't hear that. You'd think we'd have heard another car pull up. Oh, well. It might just be one of mom's friends from her book club or cooking class." Phineas soon tugged on Ferb's sleeve to urge him along before letting go. "C'mon! We gotta start ordering up parts before the others come over. We're burning valuable daylight!"

Ferb shrugged and nodded, continuing along. He supposed there was nothing to really concern himself with; Mum was always off somewhere doing something, so it was a little nice for her to be inviting someone over to their abode for a change. His hands stuffing back into his pocket, he followed Phineas back into the house. He opened the door for Phineas, who was still sketching and wasn't paying much attention, and followed him inside, kicking the door closed. His eyes went down to Phineas' sketch as they walked into the living room. Phineas was a fast sketcher, and had completed the basic sketch of the helmet, the projector, and the projection screen they were supposed to design. Right as Phineas flipped the page to start jotting down all the technicals, they were both nearing the stairs when Ferb heard the sound of discussion coming from the dining room nearby.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought my daughter with me...Her father's off on vacation, and on such short notice, I couldn't find anyone else to look after her."

"Oh, that's alright, Charlene. As long as she won't be too bored here..."

"Nope. Just got some college applications to sort through. It'll be like I'm not even here."

Ferb stopped short, pausing from attempting to climb the stairs when he heard that voice. He recognized that voice; that low, alluring voice of a particular young woman he knew. Phineas almost didn't hear him step off the stairs and move to peek into the dining room in one single motion. Phineas stopped when he heard Ferb wasn't following him, and looked over the railing of the stairs to find Ferb turning around and pressing his back against the wall, his face a bright red color as his hand went up to grip at his shirt in his heart area. Steve almost fell off of his shoulder during the quick action, and had to grab back into his shirt and climb back up, settling back onto his shoulder. Phineas blinked in confusion until he actually listened in on the conversation in the dining room.

"There's some lasagna in the fridge in you get hungry, Vanessa."

"Thanks, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher. I already ate, but I'll keep that in mind if it goes right through me."

Phineas instantly grinned after quickly discovering who was in the dining room with their mom. His eyes wandered down to his flustered brother, and a soft laugh left him, a teasing look appearing on his face as he leaned over the railing a bit.

"Ferb, it's been two years since you've seen her. You still have a crush on her?"

Ferb passed a glance up to his brother at the mention of 'the C word', his expression flushing further at the sight of Phineas' amused smirk. He shook his head as he pushed away from the wall, clearing his throat and trying to regain his composure a bit as he looked to Phineas with a semi-serious gaze.

"...I would not call it a "crush", Phineas. I would call it...slight infatuation."

Phineas just laughed slightly, his position never changing as his grin just widened.

"You basically just recited the definition of a crush, dude."

He quickly earned a frown from Ferb. It was both a blessing and a curse that Phineas knew him so well; sure, Ferb hadn't exactly recited the definition of a crush, but he certainly was in the ball-park, and Phineas wasn't going to avoid commenting on it. He paused to make sure no one in the kitchen could hear their conversation - which, judging on the continuing conversation of female willies, they hadn't - before responding.

"Don't be ridiculous. I merely admire her...erm...physical appeal." He 'explained', finding a strange hesitation in his tone as he attempted to deny attraction.

"...Which is a crush, right?" Phineas asked his tone sounding confused and curious, but his smirk showing he knew full well what a crush was.

Ferb's frown lowered further, as did his brow in very minor annoyance.

"...No."

The simple answer brought another laugh, a louder one, out of Phineas. The smugness in his grin grew and grew as the conversation continued.

"Dude, you're so deep in denial, you're drowning."

Ferb rolled his eyes this time. That wasn't even funny. Perhaps Phineas wasn't aware he'd heard that one before, or he was just trying to be annoying now. Judging by his grin, it could have been either.

"That was forced." He almost scolded.

"Maybe-"

"There is no "maybe"; that was, in fact, very forced, good sir."

It was Phineas' turn to roll his eyes this time, despite him laughing under his breath and grinning a bit.

"...Can we go now? We kinda had plans before your lady friend showed up."

"She is not my lady friend. She is probably 18 by now..."

Phineas' brow rose in mock surprise.

"So you're into older women, then?"

He laughed loudly at Ferb's surprised expression that continued to turn brighter shades of red the more Phineas spoke. With no other response other than a playfully annoyed glance, Ferb whirled around to the bottom of the stairs and dashed up after him with mock intent to smack. Phineas' laughter echoed up the stairs as he too turned to bolt up the stairs to avoid Ferb's joking intent to tackle or smack him; his plan worked. Ferb wasn't distracted by pretty ladies anymore. Now; on to getting him to the room so they could finally draw up plans without any female distractions.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_And nothing sexual happened._

_JK, but seriously. |D I promise, this is an adventure fic, not a romance. CX Anyway, this is all I got from transferring from dA and editting to a bit prettier. The rest will just be submitted to both sites as they are, starting with chapter 3. =3_

_So, R&R, tell me what was good, tell me what sucked... and I'll update as soon as possible. :3_


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